trinkett: (wake up in strawberry fields)
Effie Trinket ([personal profile] trinkett) wrote2013-07-15 05:30 pm

Fifth Dispatch. Practice Makes Perfect, And Perfect is Me. Action.

[It's a hot afternoon, and Effie Trinket has sneaked into the Barracks -- first checking to make sure no one else is in there.

No one is.

It's far too hot and dusty and anyone in her right mind would choose the techy comforts of the Battle Dome over this place.

This is a good thing. Effie doesn't WANT to meet anyone today. For one thing, she feels very awkwardly dressed: running shorts and a bright yellow T-shirt (yellow is a Power Color); white athletic socks with that 1970s-era striping at the top; sneakers. No heels, no shoulder pads, no wig, no makeup.

She is here -- VERY GRUDGINGLY, MIND -- to train for warfare. Her last announcement to the village brought on plenty of warnings, and even a subtle death threat or two, and at least a few people giving well-meaning advice. She can hardly believe any of the doubters who'd said the Malnosso would sacrifice her in a battle, but better safe than sorry. One never knows when the higher-ups might make a clerical error or shifting error and accidentally send a valued subject into dire straits.

The second reason she doesn't particularly want to meet anyone is because she knows none of the Luceti peons like her very much. That's fine with Effie. Eventually the Malnosso will take her into the inner workings of the organization and place her right where she belongs. Until then? Well. She can and has been staying indoors a great deal, being a bored journal stalker.

Unfortunately, this lonesome round in the Barracks confirms that Ms. Trinket is not cut out for warfare at all. It turns into hesitant prods at practice dummies with wooden swords, a lot of staring out the windows, and a frustrating turn at a punching bag.

Fighting is horrible and she's horrible at it and consequently is in a horrible mood.]
greenjacketed: (♖ you dare to be in the same army)

[personal profile] greenjacketed 2013-07-21 10:27 pm (UTC)(link)
"Many of them deserved much worse..."
fashionably_strong: (interested)

[personal profile] fashionably_strong 2013-07-21 10:30 pm (UTC)(link)
That's a good start. Developing your footwork and your reaction time is good, too.

[Which helps her think of a training exercise that might be more up Effie's alley.]

I think I know just the thing to help you work on that as soon as you're done with your snack.
asthehawkflies: (Default)

[Action]

[personal profile] asthehawkflies 2013-07-21 11:20 pm (UTC)(link)
You never stop changing. Experience changes you over the years.

[personal profile] ex_tessen852 2013-07-21 11:35 pm (UTC)(link)
I'm only teaching you some really simple moves. If you wanted a more complete session, I'm going to start up the Kyoshi Warriors again.
onlyeffie: (3 for the price of 1)

[personal profile] onlyeffie 2013-07-22 12:11 am (UTC)(link)
"I love it when you talk so preciously to me!"
onlyeffie: (nothing's free)

[Action]

[personal profile] onlyeffie 2013-07-22 12:21 am (UTC)(link)
[She squares off against the punching bag again. This conversation is just too damn uncomfortable.]

Yes. It has made me a more knowledgeable and valuable worker.

[Slap.]

Practically indispensable.


[Smack slap.]

The Malnosso will probably want me in a top position right away.
greenjacketed: (♖ didn't i my dear?)

[personal profile] greenjacketed 2013-07-22 12:21 am (UTC)(link)
Oh, that was it. His patience -- long suffering until this point, he believed -- snapped. Sharpe's heels might as well have clicked together for all the military precision now pouring itself into his limbs.

Less so his language: "Oh, bugger off." And he about-faced in the direction of the door.
onlyeffie: (nothing's free)

[personal profile] onlyeffie 2013-07-22 12:23 am (UTC)(link)
[Kyoshi Warriors. Something about that name sends a flood of interest and adrenaline through Effie's veins. Its wildness appeals to a part of her that she has very carefully tamped down through the years.

On the other hand, it's not ladylike to be a warrior.]


I'll think about it, okay?
onlyeffie: (keys cut)

[personal profile] onlyeffie 2013-07-22 12:24 am (UTC)(link)
"Until we meet again, dear darling Richard." She blew a kiss his way. "I shall count every hour. Every minute."

Yes. Her sweetness rocked.
greenjacketed: (♖ call the cops!)

[personal profile] greenjacketed 2013-07-22 12:32 am (UTC)(link)
Each word cut. Troublesome, really. He could endure outright cruelty and he'd never been afraid of hatred -- but sarcasm and insincere saccharine statements did a grand job of gutting him. Perhaps because it was an art he'd hardly managed to master. Or perhaps it was one all too often employed by the dandies and the well-to-dos. Either way, it soured him. Made him regret what vague advice he'd offered. Made him wish he didn't care whether or not she would fall in battle come the time her name was cast on the Malnosso's lists.

Her blown kiss garnered little more than a stern grimace and a dismayed grunt. He was glad to leave -- but was conscious all the same of the old saying: a flogging only taught a good soldier how to turn his back. Was that what was happening, now? For a moment, he thought he'd seen a glimpse of something interesting and raw in the woman. And just as quickly, she'd sewn it back up.

Disgruntled (as ever), Major Richard Sharpe made his way back into the stifled village. Too hot and too closed in. And, for the first time in a long time, he found himself resenting the life it offered; he much preferred it when all he could see was the free food, the easy survival, and the deficit of other officers making jokes in Latin at his expense.

Oh, how she made ever conversation feel as though he was back in the mess hall. Damn her.

[personal profile] ex_tessen852 2013-07-22 12:55 am (UTC)(link)
It's alright if you don't come, but the offer is out there if you wanted.

Now, back to this. There are some critical points on the body where you'd want to hit. [She points to them on her body.] Hitting hard isn't the object, just hitting the right spot.
happyhungergames: (do I stress you out?)

[personal profile] happyhungergames 2013-07-22 12:57 am (UTC)(link)
[Effie finds that she likes Suki even more for her unassuming air and for not forcing the Kyoshi Warriors. Definitely likes that.]


OH. I...don't want to hit him there.

[personal profile] ex_tessen852 2013-07-22 01:08 am (UTC)(link)
[It took Suki a second to figure out what Effie was talking about.]

Spirits no. I mean, you can, but that's a low blow and the easy way out. Hitting him here would knock him out for awhile.

[personal profile] ex_tessen852 2013-07-22 01:37 am (UTC)(link)
Yeah. This will just show him that you can take care of yourself. Teach him a thing or two.
fashionably_strong: (innocent)

[personal profile] fashionably_strong 2013-07-22 02:46 am (UTC)(link)
I really think you should eat your snack and sit for a few minutes first, Effie. You'll be able to focus better if you're not hungry.

[Although she does have to wonder. Six hours is a lot for anyone that isn't a combatant type. That Effie would want more when she's clearly not been enjoying it makes Bulla curious.]

I'm going to do a few stretches, so you have plenty of time to finish your snack.

[And thus, she starts doing her stretches without any particular rush to reinforce that statement.]
asthehawkflies: (Brainwashed and Crazy)

[Action]

[personal profile] asthehawkflies 2013-07-23 01:03 am (UTC)(link)
What about a more knowledgeable and valuable person?

[It's maybe a low blow but he's always been blunt.]

Right, 'cause of course the Mallies don't have plenty of their own to choose from before they pick on one of their test subjects.
ruthlessismore: (You are the town)

[Action]

[personal profile] ruthlessismore 2013-07-23 02:21 pm (UTC)(link)
CLINT. Stop doubting me! You have no idea what I'm capable of!

[Personhood is not something that anyone in the Capitol puts much stock in at all. People are praised for how well they fit into, replicate, support, and reproduce the system. They're praised for their physical looks and fashion sense and having blithe, devil-may-care attitudes toward life. They are honored to the degree that they don't care about anything relating to justice or righteousness or critical thought. And Effie is still too afraid of dipping her toes into anything real. She is still clinging desperately to what she is terrified, more and more, might be something empty and meaningless.

She lets loose on the bag, finally actually punching it. Thumbs tucked in, not out like Clint had suggested. There's a horrible crack as she lands one very good punch.]



OW. OW OW. GO AWAY.
happyhungergames: (and inside out)

[personal profile] happyhungergames 2013-07-23 02:23 pm (UTC)(link)
[Okay, okay -- she'll at least eat these carefully-packaged graham crackers.]

Fine. I'm kind of starving. [She has no idea what that word truly means.] I did work through lunch.


Maybe I should stretch afterward, too.

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